Special Mission
by SteelGlyph
Summary: The Director sends Agent Carolina and her squad on a special, new mission! Will they survive in this strange world? Or will they collapse under the pressure?
1. Chapter 1

_Hello everyone! I come to Fan Fiction to share my stories with fellow fans :) some of you may recognize my stories from the DeviantArt account Xephiliomia..don't worry. That's me ;) Enjoy!_

"You have got to be kidding me.." York sighed as he and the rest of the Freelancer group nervously walked through the entrance of a large supermarket.

The Director had told them that morning that he had a special mission for them that would be a bit different than what they are used to. He had said it would be a test of endurance and adaptation. Mysterious as the Director was about the mission, it was easy to see that the Freelancers were interested in this new "special" mission.

"Now I want all of you to prep for your mission and then return to the briefing room as soon as possible," the Director instructed. A simultaneous "Yes Sir!" rang through the room as the members of the Freelancer project began to exit the room.

"One more thing troops," the Director called out. "No armor, no weapons. All of you will report back to me in regular civilian attire before leaving on your mission. Dismissed." Suspicion rose as the troops slowly went back to their rooms to change out of their armor.

Washington and Maine walked to their dorm in silence, neither knowing what to expect of this new mission.

"Where could we possibly be going that doesn't require weapons and armor?" Washington thought out loud a he removed his armor and replaced it with a grey t-shirt and blue jeans.

Maine growled and shrugged as he struggled to remove his chest plate. Letting out a small laugh, Wash made his way over to the large Freelancer.

"You have to unlatch it first dumbass," Wash chuckled. "Guess you're not used to taking that off huh? Come to think of it, I've never seen you without your armor..do you sleep in it?" A deep, threatening growl echoed in Maine's throat. "Calm down, jeez. I was only kidding," Washington surrendered.

York whistled as Carolina walked out of her room dressed in a blue tank top and dark jeans.

"Watch it York," she spat as she continued on down the hallway to the briefing room with York trailing closely behind her.

As Carolina and York entered the noticed they weren't the first to be ready to go, which earned an irritated huff from Carolina. York glanced around the room, curious to see his comrades in normal clothing. North and South stood off to the side, North in khaki pants and a dark purple and green t-shirt while South sported a light purple and green spaghetti strap shirt and short jean cutoffs. Wyoming wore a white long sleeve shirt and black slacks, looking a bit too fancy for an official mission.

Everyone turned to the door as it opened to reveal a smug Washington and a very uncomfortable looking Maine. North spit out the coffee that had previously been in his mouth as he saw the slang sight. Maine was following close behind Wash in some very worn looking blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt that looked ready to rip right off the big man's body, although it did cover his whole torso.

"He didn't have any regular close besides that pair of jeans," Wash explained as he patted the big Freelancer on the arm. "So I lent him the biggest shirt I had..though it really does look like it fits kinds tight on the big fella." Growling and pushing past Washington, Maine stalked over to lean on the wall as far away from everyone a possible.

A few moments later the Director entered causing everyone to straighten up and salute. "At ease," he said as he walked to the front of the room.

"Now that you are all ready we can get down to business," he started. "It has recently come to my attention that though all of you are very skilled and well trained in combat, almost none of you know how to interact correctly with people other than your own comrades." The Director glanced around the room noticing not a single agent would look up him in the eyes.

"I thought as much," he whispered. "This is unacceptable. We're you ever to go on an undercover mission where you were posing a normal civilians..the mission would surely be a failure. Therefore, I have decided to send all of you on a rather different type of mission to test and train your communication and interaction skills. I want to see how well you all can maintain composure and not draw attention to yourselves in public," the Director paused and looked around the room once more at the now nervous looking Freelancers.

"Agent Carolina, you are going to take your squad grocery shopping."


	2. Chapter 2

Many eyes fell upon the odd group of people that stood motionless in the door way of the grocery store. It wasn't until Carolina snapped out of the initial shock of the situation that anyone moved.

"Alright here's the game plan so everyone listen up!" Carolina ordered. The Freelancers straightened up an turned their eyes to their commanding officer. "We get in, we get out. No sight-seeing or dilly-dally, got it?" She whispered to her comrades. "We'll split into groups. Washington and York will collect all of the non-food items," Carolina said as she handed Washington a portion of the very specific list that the Director had made for them. "We all meet back at register 1 in one hour. Don't be late." "On it," Wash waved as he and Maine wondered off, trying desperately to maintain their composure.

"North and Wyoming you're on-wait, where the hell is Wyoming!?" Carolina yelled as the remainder of the group glanced around to notice the cocky Brit was missing.

"Ugh, he gets out of everything," South grumbled, earning her a glare from Carolina.

"Shut up South. There's nothing we can do about it right now, we'll let the director handle it when we get back." South snorted angrily and crossed her arms. North sighed, his sister sure did like to make things difficult.

"Fine then, York you and South will get canned foods and produce..you good York?" He nodded and smiled as he took their part of the list, "Of course I am, I thought we had already talked about that."

"We don't have time for your shit York, I want to get out of here ASAP. Just take your list and South and GET GOING!" Carolina snapped back. York lifted his hands in defeat. "Right, right, we're going," he smiled as South followed him, grumbling under her breath about how stupid the mission was.

"Guess that leaves you and me," North shrugged as he reached to pull pack of gum out of his pocket. "Right. We get frozen items and meat," Carolina stated as she glanced over the remaining items on the list. She sighed then straightened up, determined as ever. "Let's get this over with. Come on North." "Right behind you," North said, following their leader off into unknown terrain.

Soon after locating a cart Carolina and North began quickly and efficiently retrieving the items from their list, speeding through the store without knocking over a single child.

"You know, I never realized just how much we all eat before today," North said as he placed ten pounds of chicken in the cart. Carolina laughed, a rare sight North noted.

"You mean how much you men eat," she corrected, putting twenty packs of pre-shaped hamburger patties on top of the chicken. North grinned and checked the items off their list. "What can I say, a guy's gotta eat."

Washington examined the list in his hands as Maine practically dwarfed the small cart he pushed right behind the smaller agent. Less than halfway down their list was a product that Wash couldn't quite make out. The ink had smeared so the mysterious item was ignored for the moment.

"Alright big guy, we need to go find the toilet paper," Wash said as he turned around the check on the silent Freelancer. A frown appeared on his face as he noticed that the bigger agent was no longer following him.

"Maine?...Buddy?" Washington called as he back tracked to the isles they had previously been on, becoming more and more worried. Where could that hulk of a man possibly have gone? He was the least social of them all so Wash was worried about what would happen if Maine got in to a situation where he would have to try and communicate with another human. It could only end in disaster.

"Get off of me you bloody animal!" Washington heard a familiar voice yelling down the next isle. He sprinted around the corner to an odd sight. Wash had found Maine alright, but he had also found Wyoming. The larger Freelancer appeared to have rammed his cart into the Brit, knocking him to the floor and then sitting on his back. Maine hissed furiously at the struggling Wyoming, looking up angrily as Washington walked up.

"Agent Washington, please remove this ELEPHANT from my back!" Wyoming demanding, struggle apparent in his voice.

Washington looked at Maine who let loose a low growl and pointed to the Brit. "Seriously?" Wash questioned as he looked back at Wyoming.

"He said you were trying to steal a watch Wyoming, is that true?" The guilty agent glared at Maine. "...I would've gotten away with it too if it weren't for your and your meddling beast!" Wyoming shouted angrily. Washington couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright then, I'll make him get off if you put back the merchandise. Deal?" Wash held out his hand to Wyoming. "Fine! Fine! Just get him off of me!" Washington chuckled as he patted Maine on the shoulder. "Come on buddy, let's get the rest of the things on this list some can get out of this mad house." Maine growled at the Brit once more before getting up and pushing the cart away behind Washington. Wyoming stood up and dusted himself off, snickering as the pair rounded the corner.

"Did you grab the pinto beans South?" York asked as he checked green beans off the list. South sighed loudly from the other end of the isle.

"No I didn't! I told you I don't like beans!" She yelled down to the other agent who mentally cursed Carolina for putting him with South.

"They aren't just for your South, everyone else eats them. We're grocery shopping for the group," York replied calmly. "Now just go and grab them so we can get this over with, ok?" South rolled her eyes dramatically. "Fine!" She yelled as she retrieved fifteen cans of beans and dropped them angrily in the cart.

"There's your damn beans, happy?" York smiled, "Actually yes, thank you South." The female agent's face turned bright red. "Ugh!" She screeched as she stormed down the isle. York chuckled to himself while he pushed the cart after her. Maybe he could have some fun with this.

A tall woman with dark red hair walked up to the counter in the electronics department, a stern and determined look on her face.

"Um, can I help you with something?" The small man behind the counter asked. The woman looked him right in the eyes sending a cold chill down his spine.

"I need the biggest television you have."


	3. Chapter 3

York and South continued their quest for canned goods, neither wanting more than to leave the wretched supermarket.

"Are we done yet?" South complained as she examined a can of asparagus. "Eww.." York chuckled and nodded, "We just need to grab a few cans of chicken broth, then we can move on to the fruits and vegetables."

South sighed in relief. "Thank god." She returned the can of odd green vegetables to its shelf, quickly turning back around only to smack right into a rather large woman. South blinked a couple times then straightened up.

"Watch it lady!" She growled at the obviously obese woman. The bigger woman glared down at South, "You watch it blondie!" She yelled in a disturbingly deep voice. Noticing the impending danger, York pushed himself in between South and the large woman.

"Ladies, please!" He strained as he tried to separate the fuming women. "Let's just forget this whole thing happened and continue on with our lives, sound good?" York persuaded, finally succeeding in pushing the two woman apart from each other.

"You're lucky your little boyfriend got in the way," the big woman spat as she pushed her cart away. "That fat bitch!" South snarled, trying to lunge at the other woman. "Calm down!" York said as he grabbed her arm to keep her from causing a scene. "We're on a mission, don't let her distract you. Ok? The sooner we get done the sooner we can leave," York soothed. South relaxed and pulled her arm away from York. "Fine. Let's go get your damn chicken broth."

"You ever tried pistachio ice cream?" North questioned as he was crouched down browsing the large selection of ice cream.

Carolina rolled her eyes, "No and I don't want to. Now quit getting looking at ice cream and help me find the waffles." Carolina ordered. "I should've known a guy would get distracted by food. Maybe I should've brought South instead.." North looked up at Carolina. "You and I both know that wouldn't have ended well," he stated.

"Yes but at least South wouldn't be questioning me about every single food item we walk by," Carolina sniffed. North frowned, "I thought you liked playing food trivia." Receiving a glare from his commanding officer, North put his hands up. "Alright, waffles it is." He laughed as he rummaged through the many freezers to find the sweet, dimpled breakfast items.

As Carolina marked another item off their list she noticed something red go by out the corner of her eye. Looking up from her paper and seeing nothing there made Carolina suspicious. She never imagined seeing things.

"Come here North,"she whispered. The male Freelancer walked over, his facial expression suddenly more serious. "What's wrong?" He asked suspiciously. Carolina frowned and discreetly pointed towards the end of the isle.

"I think we're being followed."

Maine coughed as he placed a large pack of paper towels in the cart, lightly rubbing his throat afterward. Washington noticed and frowned. It had only been a few days since the large Freelancer had been shot in the throat by that sleeveless soldier so it only made sense that his throat was still bothering him. Maine was a master at hiding his injuries from everyone but Wash. The two had been roommates long enough for Washington to see right through him.

"Throat still bothering you, huh?" Wash asked, though the answer was obvious. Maine growled quietly and started pushing the cart to the next isle. Washington followed close behind him, not satisfied with his answer.

"Pretty sure 'We need soap' isn't the correct answer to that question," Wash grumbled. "Are you ok?" The one thing he hated about Maine was just how stubborn he was. Irritated by Washington's nagging, Maine growled more loudly than the last time as he nearly ran into an elderly couple with the cart.

"Watch it big guy!" Wash called. "Sorry bout that," he whispered to the startled couple as he smiled and chased after the large Freelancer.

"Maine! Wait!" Washington yelled as he jumped right in front cart. Maine snarled as a low growl escaped from his lips. "I know, just hear me out ok?" Wash pleaded. Maine stood motionless, glaring holes through the smaller man.

"Ok, I'll leave you alone and promise to not ask about your throat ever again," Washington started, seeing his large friend raise an eyebrow. "IF you promise to let me take you out for ice cream sometime. It'll make your throat feel a hell of a lot better. Deal?" Washington smiled as large as his face would allow.

Maine remained still for a couple of seconds before rolling his eyes and growling once more. Wash flashed a toothy grin and moved out of the way of the large man and his cart. "I knew you couldn't resist this face," he said smugly as Maine walked by. A swift smack to the back of his head reassured Washington that his friend hadn't changed a bit.

Wyoming sat outside of the supermarket alone, inspecting his spoils. He had managed to snag two watches, a diamond necklace and a pair of gold earrings. Smiling smugly, Wyoming sat back and sighed.

"You did good ol' chap, you did good."


	4. Chapter 4

"Well big guy," Washington sighed in relief. "We're down to the last item on the list." Maine growled softly and opened up a can of previously purchased soda, since apparently drinking alcohol in public is some sort of felony.

Glaring down at the list, Wash's eyes returned to the smudged mystery item. "Hey Maine, can you read this?" Washington questioned. Maine let out a low hiss as he grabbed the list from the smaller Freelancer's hand. "You didn't have to yank it out of my hand, jeez..." Wash complained.

Maine shot a nasty glare at Washington before turning his attention back to the list. He squinted his eyes as he tried to recognize the ink-smeared word. Suddenly realizing what the product was, Maine growled loudly and shoved the paper in Washington's face.

"Hey!" Wash's cry was muffled by the paper and Maine's hand. The large Freelancer removed the paper and dropped it in to the cart, hissing again.

"Wait...you serious..?" Washington said nervously. Maine growled and nodded, taking another swig of soda. Wash's face turned a light red as he looked at the bigger man and gulped. "I guess..we just...let's get this over with." Maine nodded again and pushed the cart forward, his face looking more determined than before.

"So where do they keep those things anyway?" Washington asked as they wondered up and down multiple isles. Maine rolled his eyes and growled. "No way!" Wash protested. "YOU ask someone where they are!" A menacing glare from the larger Freelancer made Washington realize what he had just said.

"Oh..I..uh, sorry man...I didn't mean..." A small flash of hurt crossed the large man's eyes before his perpetual scowl returned. Maine growled again and Washington hung his head.

"Fine, I'll ask someone.." Wash trailed off as he glanced over to see a young female employee stocking the shelves with boxed hair color. Smiling, Washington waved down the young worker to catch her attention. She approached the odd couple, a bit hesitant at first because of the scowling hulk of a man who towered over the other.

"Ca-can I help you?" She asked, unintentionally stuttering. Washington smiled again, attempting to put the girl at ease.

"Yeah, hey um my friend and I were wondering..where do you keep tampons?"

North and Carolina continued their shopping suspiciously, not knowing what to expect with the probability of being followed. Carolina had to North that they had to keep their guard up at all times and keep their eyes peeled, always being prepared for the worst..

"Excuse me miss? I think you-hurk!" The man was interrupted by a quick hand wrapping around his throat. Carolina held the man up against the shelves and glared dangerously.

"Who are you working for!?" Carolina demanded angrily. The man struggled to speak and squirmed in her grip. Suspecting miscommunication, North placed his hand on Carolina's shoulder.

"Maybe we should hear him out first," he suggested. "He seems harmless enough." Glaring at the man one last time, Carolina released her grip on the man's throat allowing him to breath again.

"You *cough* dropped your list.." The man whispered weakly as he held out a familiar piece of paper. Carolina snatched the paper from the man's hand and glared at him once more.

"Leave before I change my mind," she threatened. The man nodded quickly and shuffled off as fast as his short legs could carry him.

"A little jumpy, Agent Carolina?" A familiar voice taunted. North and Carolina whipped their heads around to come face to face with the other red head of the Freelancer Project.

"Texas.." Carolina sneered at the other female on the isle. "What are you doing here? The Director never said you'd be here." Texas grinned, "He doesn't tell you everything Carolina, you'd do good to remember that," she said as she grabbed her cart and started to walk off.

"Where do you think you're going!?" Carolina yelled. Texas stopped and turned around. "My mission is complete. I'm leaving," she grinned, turned around then disappeared around the corner.

Carolina was visibly fuming. "That dirty bitch.." North gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Now I know you two don't get along real well, but there's really no point in getting so worked up over her being here," North soothed, talking quietly and gently.

Carolina sighed, "I know North. I just...forget it," her shoulders slumped. "Let's get to the register and wait for the others." North smiled and nodded, overjoyed that his commanding officer hadn't decided to chase after Texas.

"Where is everyone.." York thought out loud as he and South waited next to the first register. It had been over an hour since they all arrived at the store and York was beginning to worry about the rest of his teammates. Especially Carolina, it wasn't like her to be late. Carolina was never late..

"Yo!" North called as he spotted York and his sister standing next to the register. A wave of relief spread over South and York. "Get everything on your list?" Carolina questioned the other two Freelancers. York nodded, "Yep, we're all done here."

"Good," Carolina said as she glanced around the front of the store. "Wait, where are Washington and Maine?" She asked, drawing attention to the lack of their other two members. South shrugged, "Hell if I know, we haven't seen them since we all split up."

A loud crashing sound was heard from the back of the store, drawing the attention of nearly every shopper around. York and Carolina looked at each other with knowing eyes. They knew where the other two Freelancers were.


	5. Chapter 5

Carolina sighed, wishing to herself that she had seen this coming. She knew Maine was easily angered and Washington could make people hate him just by opening his mouth, but Carolina had hoped they would behave in public. Apparently she had expected too much of the two.

"York and I will go find Maine and Washington," Carolina said sternly as she turns to look at North and South. "You and South stay here and pay for the items we have. Hopefully we can find those two then leave before anything else happens.."

North nodded as he and South began to unload the groceries, each wondering just what kind of trouble Wash and Maine were getting in to.

Shoppers ran and screamed as huge shelves were knocked to the floor sending food products flying across the floor. A trashy looking man lay on the floor among the debris, struggling to get to his feet as he heard very loud and angry growling approaching him quickly.

Maine grabbed the man by the throat and slammed him into the ground repeatedly , growling angrily through the whole session.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Maine hissed and looked up from his work to see Carolina and York, mouths agape. Carolina ran over to the injured man to check the damage and noted that his skull was fractured and his left arm broken.

Growling loudly, Maine grabbed the man by his head and lifted him off the ground. "P-please..." The man whispered weakly to Carolina.

"Stand down Maine," she ordered, her stern eyes meeting his fiery eyes in a stalemate. He growled threateningly at his commanding officer as his grip on the man tightened, causing him to yelp in pain.

York slowly approached the giant Freelancer, "Come on man, just calm down and let-" York was interrupted by Washington calling him and Carolina out. Turning around, Carolina and York saw Washington approach with a nervous looking young mother and her small child.

"What the hell is going on here Washington?" Carolina demanded. "That dick tried to take this lady's little girl," Wash spat. "Maine saw him grab her out of their cart and so he just reacted." Maine snorted and slammed the man face first to the floor and stepped on his back with one foot, holding him down.

Carolina was at a loss for words. On one had Maine had compromised the mission by causing a scene and making such a mess. But on the other hand he had just possibly saved a child's life. No one knew Maine to be the nice one of their group so of course this was a surprise to all of them.

"Washington," Carolina called for the bumbling Freelancer. "Yeah boss?" He asked. "Take that man and call the authorities and explain what happened to them. Be sure that kid's mother is with you as well." Washington nodded and walked up to Maine.

"Gotta take him from you, big guy. Boss's orders," Wash apologized as he pulled the dazed man out from underneath Maine's massive foot and carried him off, the young mother following closely behind as the many shoppers stared curiously at the sight.

Carolina turned to York, "Get rid of the crowd and find the manage of the store and offer to help clean this mess up. We'll pay for any damages as well." York's shoulders slumped. "You serious?" Carolina simply glared back at the complaining man. York sighed, "Alright, alright. Man this day just keeps getting better.." He grumbled as he herded the crowd of bystanders away from the odd scene.

"Maine. Come with me." A low growl of consent answered Carolina's command as Maine followed behind the disgruntled red head off to an uninhabited corner.

Carolina sighed and looked up at the large Freelancer. His head was slightly hung in resentment, but the fire she had previously seen in his eyes remained.  
There was no doubt that expected no less than a stern scolding.

"Good work Maine," Carolina said. His head shot up and he lightly growled in curiosity. "You stood up for that little girl and did what was right," she explained. "Drastic as it was, you still save her life despite your orders. Not many people around these days who would do something like that. I'm proud of you," Carolina smiled. Maine's cheeks ever so slightly turned red and Carolina couldn't help but chuckle.

North was parched. The whole time they had been in this store and he hadn't had a single drink. He decided that it was time to change that. "I'll be right back South, gonna go grab me a soda. Want anything?" He asked his sister. "No. Just hurry up," she said. They had been through purchasing the groceries for about twenty minutes now and South was beyond tired of waiting on everyone to get back.

Walking toward the small refrigerator that held the soda bottles, North spotted the highlight of his whole day: a diet Dr. Pepper. He smiled and sighed, "Sweet success." As he reached for the bottle a young woman around her twenties was also reaching for the very same drink.

"Oh, sorry miss," North started as he quickly pulled the drink from its shelf. "Looks like this is the last bottle, guess you'll have to get something else," he apologized. The lady glared at North and reached for the soda in his hand. "Or you could be a gentleman and let me have the last drink," she said rather sternly.

North's smiled faded as he put the bottle behind his back. "It's been a real long day mam', I think it would be better if I kept this," he defended. The woman was relentless. "You'd better hand over that soda, pretty boy," she nearly growled. North was loosing his patience with the irritating woman. "Sorry lady, this soda is mine," he said as he started to walk off. "Oh no you don't!" The woman yelled as she charged at North.

Startled by her sudden attack, North took off running. The woman tailed him closely as he ran for the register. He reached in his pocket and threw some money to the startled cashier. "Here! Sorry!" He yelled as he ran straight out the door with the infuriated woman still chasing him and his beloved diet Dr. Pepper.

With everything settled and the groceries safely loaded in the back, the Freelancers slowly piled themselves into their rented van. They had a long and tired mission and were all ready to just go home and sleep.

York took the wheel and Carolina claimed shotgun while the others claimed their seats in the back. As the backed out of the parking lot and got on to the main road a sense of relief washed over the entire van. York glanced in the mirror and smiled at his passengers.

Washington had fallen asleep with his face leaning on the window and Maine was sitting beside him with his eyes threatening to close. North sat in front of them in between South who was asleep with he head on his shoulder and Wyoming who was smugly glancing over all of his spoils. North simply smiled and nodded at York as he took a swig of his much deserved diet Dr. Pepper.

Returning his eyes to the road, York couldn't help but wonder if they had learned what the Director was intending them to. Carolina sighed and leaned her head on her hand, looking completely exhausted. It had been a hard mission but they stuck it out just like they always did. Laughing to himself, York realized he did learn a lesson in all of this: never send super soldiers grocery shopping.


End file.
